Council Assets

1437 The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (24 September 2019). Subsequent to a council boundary adjustment, will councils be required to compensate other councils for the acquisition of their fixed assets?

The Hon. S.K. KNOLL (Schubert—Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning): I have been advised the following—

Under the Local Government Act 1999 (the Act), the boundaries commission (the commission) is the independent body that assesses and investigates boundary change proposals. Following the referral of a proposal to the commission, it may inquire into the proposal and then publish a public report and make recommendations to the minister.

As part of an inquiry, the commission must explore all potential impacts of a change to council boundaries, to ensure that the principles set out in section 26 of the Act are fully considered. These principles provide a broad overview of how councils are expected to operate, and the nature of the community that they serve. A number of these principles recognise that councils have and maintain significant facilities and services, and must have a sufficient resource base to fulfil their functions.

For this reason, the commission would undertake a full investigation of the impact of a proposal on a council's financial position, particularly if the proposal is for a significant boundary change. It is likely that these investigations would include an examination of the assets within an area that is proposed to be moved from one council to another; and also of the impact that this could have on both (or all) councils affected by the proposed change.

It is therefore possible that a recommendation that the commission makes to the minister may include recommendations that specifically deal with the impact of the transfer of assets, or the management of any other financial impact that a change may have on the relevant councils. These matters may be dealt with in a proclamation that would be made in relation to a proposal, that may 'make provision for the transfer, apportionment, settlement or adjustment of property, assets, income, rights, liabilities or expenses as between the relevant councils.'

It is also expected that these matters will vary depending on the specific details of any proposal that the commission investigates. While the transfer of assets may involve a financial arrangement between the relevant councils, it is not appropriate to describe this as a 'compensation scheme', due to the potential range and complexity of financial and asset matters that may be relevant to any significant proposal.